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At 11°C, Sunday was Chandigarh’s coldest January day since 2016
Shimla was warmer than Chandigarh at 14.5°C; similar weather conditions will continue through the week, according to the India Meteorological Department
The city’s maximum temperature dropped to 11°C on Sunday, 10.1 degrees below normal, making it the coldest January day since 2016, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Similar weather conditions are likely to continue through the week and rain is also on the cards towards the weekend.
As per IMD records, Chandigarh had last recorded a maximum temperature of 11°C only on January 21, 2016. Interestingly, Sunday’s day temperature was equivalent to the 11°C minimum temperature recorded on Friday.
Several hill stations in Himachal Pradesh were warmer than the city. While Shimla’s maximum temperature was 14.5°C, the mercury was 13.1°C in Dalhousie and 19°C in Dharamshala.
IMD Chandigarh director Manmohan Singh said the city’s maximum temperature stayed so low on Sunday primarily due to fog, while the weather was clear in the hills. “We have not had any sun for the past few days, so mercury has been going down steadily,” he added.
Visibility stayed between 500-1,000 metres (moderate fog) through the day.
IMD also classified Sunday as a “severe cold day”. It is declared in the plains when the minimum temperature is below 10°C and the maximum temperature goes over 6.5 degrees below normal.
Chances for cold days and severe cold days will continue in the coming days. “While a fresh western disturbance will affect the region from Friday and bring along some rain, it is unlikely to have any effect on the day temperature and cold days will continue,” Singh said.
Meanwhile, though Sunday’s day temperature was 2.6 notches lower than Saturday’s 13.6°C, the minimum temperature rose slightly from 8.1°C to 8.2°C in the past 24 hours and was 2.5 degrees above normal.
In the next three days, the maximum temperature may rise to around 15°C, but the minimum temperature will remain around 9°C.
